Wake Up!

There are things we can do But from the things that work there are only two And from the two that we choose to do Peace will win and fear will lose It is faith and there’s sleep We need to pick one please because Faith is to be awake And to be awake is for us to think And for us to think is to be alive And I will try with every rhyme To come across like I am dying To let you know you need to try to think

I love the progression – ‘Faith is to be awake, And to be awake is for us to think, And for us to think is to be alive.’

I need to wake up.

Are you as frustrated with this election year as I am? Based on what I am seeing in the headlines, on television, and on social media my guess is that you are. I have been struggling with what to say with regard to our nation and the upcoming election. I don’t find most of what I read, watch, or hear to be helpful. I have known that I wanted to say something for some time, but I knew I wanted it to be something different than what we have all been bombarded with over the last year. There’s a lot of fear and hate going around.

For too long we have allowed headlines, network news, social media, and political parties to guide our thoughts and choices. The noise from these entities provides us a picture of who we are as Americans. We are continually reminded of the freedom we have and how we need to take control so we can keep our freedom. We get caught up in it all and begin to make choices without consulting our faith. We are asleep.

I choose to wake up.

I choose to think.

As I ponder the choice I will make on November 8, I choose to start with my faith rather than the noise. My faith says:

God is sovereign yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

I am a follower of Christ. After that, I am an American.

If I start with faith then I am confident that I will have peace regardless of my choice or which candidate is victorious. That is my foundation. It’s what Michele and I hope we are teaching our girls. It’s a foundation that builds to hope and peace. Not the peace that is the absence of conflict, but the peace that is contentment. It is the peace that I find in scripture and experience through Christ. I do not expect to find it perfectly this side of Heaven, but I will continue to strive to remember God’s sovereignty and be motivated by peace rather than fear and I will encourage others to do the same.

Turn off the noise of the newspapers, television networks, social media, and political parties and reconnect to your faith.

Wake up.

Think.

If you are a follower of Christ does your choice reveal your faith that God is sovereign or a fear that He isn’t? If you find yourself motivated by fear or hate then take a deep breath and remind yourself that God is so much bigger than America. Join me in praying that our nation will not be motivated by fear and hate. If you have already cast your vote…keep praying the same.

If you are reading this and you do not know God or how to break away from the fear and hate in our world and you want to know more, please reach out to me here and I will assist you in finding resources near you as best I can. If nothing else, I encourage to pick up a bible and begin reading about Jesus and his teachings in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.

Peace to you and God Bless

As I composed this over the last 24 hours I came across some similar thoughts on the sovereignty of God from Max Lucado. Here’s a link: My Prediction for November 9